Emergency Food Supply

To Carry You Through a Backwoods Crisis

Your emergency food supply should ideally contain one day’s food or around 3,000 calories. Because this is your “extra” food, you will want to include the lightest, most compact items available.

Some of the items you may consider are:

• Packaged nuts
• Peanut butter packets
• Whole wheat tortillas
• Beef jerky
• Summer sausage
• Instant oatmeal
• Dried fruit
• Dried noodles
• Meat or Fish in foil packages
• Trail mix
• Tea or coffee bags
• Instant soup packets
• Honey packets
• Cereal bars
• Energy bars

A Day's Menu

With the above foods, you might have an day's meals that looks like this:

Breakfast: Instant oatmeal with honey, dried fruit & hot chocolate
Mid-Morning Snack: Cereal bar, hot coffee or tea if you are cold
Lunch: Tuna fish or other meat, instant soup
Mid-Afternoon Snack: Energy bar
Dinner: Dried noodles, summer sausage, dried fruit, hot tea
Before Bed Snack: Trail mix, hot drink

There you have it; a day’s food that will fit into a quart zipper-close bag. You will notice that each meal couples a good protein source with a starchy choice. Starchy foods give you quick energy. Proteins take longer to metabolize and therefore provide sustained energy.

***IMPORTANT NOTE: As an extra measure of caution, for every meal where you intend to cook, pack an extra energy bar. In the menu above, that would mean tucking in 3 extra energy bars. Should you be injured and unable to travel to a water source, be low on water and unable to find water, or your backpacking stove malfunction, you will still have a full day's meals without cooking.***

A good protein and starch snack which includes a warm drink before bed helps to keep you warm through the night. The above menu is just an example. Feel free to add nutritional food choices and mix them as you wish. Just combine protein with starch at each meal.

One of my favorite comfort foods on the trail is whole wheat tortillas with peanut butter and honey. I frequently eat it as my regular noon meal. You will find your favorites too. Incorporate those favorite meals that are lightweight and compact into your emergency food supply.

Choose Good Nutrition

Just like your regular cache of backpacking food, your concentration should be on highly nutritious foods with a heavier than usual concentration of fats. You will need energy to survive the emergency situation. Energy comes from calories. This is no place for a “diet” variety of foods.

Comfort Food

Take time to think clearly about your choices. Assume that you WILL be eating this food and ONLY this food for an entire 24-hour period. Choose items that you will enjoy eating. In an emergency situation, you will receive the energy that you need from this emergency food supply. Possibly as important, you will receive emotional comfort from having a good supply of tasty food. There is an intellectual reassurance in having a full belly.

Hydration Is Important

It is vitally important to keep yourself well hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Even if you are sitting still awaiting rescue and not sweating, you will need a quart of water at a minimum. If the temperature is hot enough to make you sweat or you are at high altitudes, double that amount.

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